Projects aided by taxes back at public trough

Updated 6:00 pm, Wednesday, December 31, 1969

Almost lost amid the furor over whether city employees with domestic partners would get benefits was another handout to a wealthy former homebuilder.

The $100,000 allocated for Morgan's Wonderland, Gordon Hartman's special-needs park on the Northeast Side, was a good deal less than the $350,000 he asked for. But it would go into a pot of $12 million in city and county funds that Hartman already has received for the special-needs park and the adjoining STAR Soccer Complex.

The council approved the money without discussion Thursday, even though it runs counter to promises Hartman made to both city and county officials that he wouldn't be back for more.

Mayor Julián Castro and City Manager Sheryl Sculley both said the money has a long way to go before it ends up in Hartman's hands. Sculley called it a “place holder,” and said Hartman only gets it if he proves he has a plan and — here's that phrase again — won't be back for more.

The money materialized in the budget without the knowledge of District 10 Councilman Carlton Soules, whose district includes Morgan's Wonderland. Soules was wondering as late as Wednesday, after a brief council discussion on the matter, how it got there.

Sculley put the money in after talking to Castro, although she listed it under projects she didn't recommend funding. She agreed that Soules should've been consulted but made clear that the need for a plan is no minor hoop for Hartman to jump through.

“We support the special-needs park and we think it's a great project, so we're willing to help,” Sculley said. “But we want to make sure there's a plan and he has the balance of the funding.”

Castro has always favored helping Morgan's Wonderland and says a park serves a public purpose. He said that even as he balked at Hartman's dubious attempt to bring minor league soccer to town to raise money for the special-needs park.

The mayor said he just assumed Soules knew.

Hartman, for his part, said he hadn't aggressively sought money from the city.

“Do I welcome that the city loves Morgan's Wonderland? You bet,” he said. “The City Council and the mayor consistently have asked how they can help Morgan's Wonderland.”

Hartman said his vow to make the project self-sufficient applied to the soccer complex, not Morgan's Wonderland. But he said the purpose it serves makes it a worthy investment for the city.

Hartman's park wasn't the only project helped along by venue taxes to get city money. The 2012 budget also includes $300,000 for the Wheatley Heights Sports Complex on the Southeast Side — even though neither city nor county officials have seen a business plan.

That project won approval at the urging of District 2 Councilwoman Ivy Taylor, but she agreed that the money shouldn't be spent until there's a plan. Taylor also said she wants the city off the hook for ongoing expenses but thinks the sports complex will give her East Side district a boost.

Frank Dunn, who's been managing that project as a volunteer, told the council last week that he was negotiating a partnership with the San Antonio Independent School District and hoped to have a business plan soon. City officials seem inclined to put their money on a shelf until they see one, which is encouraging.

Coming back for more is standard practice with some public projects, and some of them deserve the extra help. Morgan's Wonderland and Wheatley Heights are both good projects, but if people don't stick to the pledges that led voters to sign off on them in the first place, somebody ends up holding the bag.